NZ jogger reveals how Guillain-Barre Syndrome left her 'locked in' her own body

Alyce Collins

Published: 06/11/2019Updated: 6 November 2019 10:19 am

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How pins and needles in a jogger’s toes led to ‘terrifying’ total paralysis. Credit: Media Drum World/Australscope

What started as pins and needles in the toes of an NZ jogger became total paralysis which left her "locked in" her own body.

Pharmacist Anstey Campbell, 29, from Dargaville, noticed she had pins and needles in her toes on the morning of January 17, 2019 after returning from a run.

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“I noticed pins and needles in the toes of my left foot after a run before work, but I didn’t think anything of it,” Anstey said.

Anstey Campbell. Credit: Media Drum World/Australscope

“By lunchtime I had pins and needles in both feet, I thought it was the new shoes I was wearing so went home and changed them,” she added.

But as the afternoon progressed, the feeling spread and that evening her knees buckled beneath her. After a sleepless night due to chest pain, Anstey got up the following morning and fell to the floor.

Through the day, Anstey’s body was gradually taken over by paralysis which worked its way up her body to her face.

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'The weakness was spreading'

“We called the ambulance and I was taken to our local hospital where I saw a GP who was well known to me,” Anstey recalled.

“The weakness was spreading to my upper body and face by this time. Within 15 minutes, the doctor diagnosed me with Guillain-Barre Syndrome (GBS) and she told me what to expect and referred me to the emergency department of our nearest major hospital.”

Anstey Campbell became locked in her own body. Credit: Media Drum World/Australscope

Guillain-Barre Syndrome (GBS), is a muscle weakness disorder caused by the body’s immune system attacking the nervous system.

Anstey was transferred to ICU, but as her breathing deteriorated and her entire body became paralysed, even her eyelids, doctors decided to put her in an induced coma for a week to save her lungs.

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'My breathing was deteriorating'

“Over the course of the day, I slowly became paralysed from the legs to the top of my head,” she said. “By the time I was intubated I was so weak I could barely open my eyelids.

“My breathing was deteriorating, and the doctors could see the struggle I was having to breathe so they decided to put me under to protect my lungs.”

For the next 31 days, Anstey was unresponsive but she was actually experiencing ‘locked in’ syndrome – where a person’s body is paralysed but they are conscious and aware of their surroundings.

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'It was the most terrifying thing imaginable'

“It was the most terrifying thing imaginable,” Anstey said. “I remember the doctors tried all these tests to get some sort of response and it was really terrifying when I realised I was stuck inside.

“I was trying to do what they were telling me to, but nothing was happening. I remember the doctor pushing hard on my brow bone to try and make my eyes open, it was so painful and all I was saying inside was ‘stop’

“It was terrifying being unable to communicate, especially as I was so uncomfortable and I couldn’t say I was in pain. With my eyes permanently shut, it was difficult to establish day from night and my only cue was when the visitors dwindled.

“The first movement I got back was a twitch in my jaw, and it became one twitch for yes and two twitches for no.”